A beautiful ‘visit’ from the black eagle.. + living together!

This magnificent Verreaux eagle came to join the ravens over our hill one morning.. What a fabulous sight it was!! Just lately we have had around 300 ravens every day using the up drafts caused by the position of lkanto hill towering above the windy Milgis Lugga, for practising their flying skills.. There was some good fruiting trees, Salvadora Persica down along the lugga’s that brought so many together.. It was absolutely so much fun watching them!!.. Ravens love flying, and having fun!.. Playing and doing arobatics .. taking sticks, or old bones up in their claws and dropping them and trying to catch them again! It keeps us amused always!!

a visit from the great black eagle giving us the show of all shows, in amoungst the ravens! It was JUST amazing!!

Byeeeeeee.. the ravens escorting him off the premises!! This was the most beautiful visit.. This great eagle circled with the ravens all together for a while..

Down below the hill.. A herd of camels peacefully browsing in the bushes very close to the elephants.. .

camels all browsing quietly in the bushes below lkanto

eating together in the bushes!

a few minutes later!! the camels came out first, followed by four beautiful bulls!

just a few minutes earlier these camels were browsing in the bushes.. They came out followed by …

these four beautiful bulls ..

the ladies in Latakwen always come out with great messages.. This piece of beaded cloth has a clear one..

‘peace brings animals together’

I think the real jist of this blog, is YOU CAN LIVE TOGETHER, peacefully and happily.. even using each other to survive!.. Which is our no 1 motto of the Milgis work..

We had a visit at our hill from real poets!.. These were their words on departure!!

23.8.19 Lkanto Hill, Milgis Lugga, Northern Kenya

French essayist Pierre Rabhi advocates “la sobriete heurese” (happy simplicity) for mankind’s future.. We found it here and for miles around from this glorious hilltop.

-no useless walls around our beds

-not a single light at night except for the moon and the milky way

-delicious food in a goat that walked its own way to its destiny

-no internet or phone noise from the world

-wildlife and livestock living off the same beautifully conserved environment.

We can only imagine the knowledge, diplomacy and dedication it takes to balance wildlife and people’s needs in this pristine territory. We have seen the team collect regular radio information from rangers far and wide, check pictures from the night vision cameras, pick up up every bit of rubbish from the lugga, and keep a daily conversation with villagers.

Lemagas showed us the pump that provides the local school with fresh water. We came across a car that checks on peoples eye care, even Ali a school teacher from south Horr who hitchhiked a ride with us from Lake Turkana mentioned that you save his students..

All this with in just 4 days.

What a treat for us!

-We saw more than 22 elephants peacefully rambling where herds of camels had just treked . Kudu footprints intersected goats ’trails’. The night vision camera reported leopard and villiger’s at short interval’s. Even the hyena had his breakfast slightly away from ours!

We admired shepard’s digging the riverbed for water for their cattle. Samburu villager’s invited us for chai in the manyatta while they were waiting for the day their boys would become men.

Thank you so much all of you!

This really was ‘happy simplicity’ for us..

We also believe the Milgis Trust contributes to “happy simplicity” for mankind.

Anne Sylvie and JC Knoertzer

And heres some pictures on the night camera to show this!

Children out many kms away from their manyattas, returning home with a lost camel..

soon after an elephant!

a Samburu lad..

A couple of days later..

cows coming home for the ceremonies

a their owners

not long later a herd of elephants follow!

at night.. who knows who will grace the path!!..

Leo himself

a stripy

In the morning! it could be any thing..

a lesser kudu

Children out with their goats

happy girls out with their goats!

a dikdik

lovely smile..

The kids got a little brave and started playing with the camera.. We have them all on film so plenty of proof!! not this young lad though!..

Then we also discovered as we have proof .. baboons having a go at adjusting the settings on the camera!!

even a baboon playing with the camera!

playing with the camera

And a sweet little show from mum and babe!..

I’m falling off

woops

on you get

off we go!

A porcupine got abit of a fright when this elephant came around the corner.. He didn’t get hurt but the camera did..

this porcupine surprised the eley

The camera having a proper reshaping! We generally find the camera thrown over his shoulder lieing on the ‘deck’, or stamped on properly!! We’ve lost about 6 cameras this way, jolly expensive!.. Such a shame as the photos are fabulous!..

OR ………

innocent himself! ‘go on have a go’..

aaaaachssssss crunch crunch.. How does it sound!?? couple more cameras lost to mr innocent here!

Other news!

Its the year in Samburu land for the new age group to become warriors.. This happens only every 13-15 years!! Its a huge deal.. and every one is in ‘Larora’ (see below) mode!! Nothing much else counts!! There is so much preparation and work to be done, ending up with the youngsters being circumcised .. During which ..They must not even blink an eye, make a noise nor move during the operation.. so for them also a huge amount of mind preparing!.. Its part of how they are brought up.. You have to be tough out here.. no ‘wets’!

A ‘Larora’ .. Bari-Nyiro on the plains above Masikita!.. Its a huge gathering of all the people that have boys that will become warriors, and every thing is organised by the elders including exactly where each family will put their house … I gather that there were nearly 300 home steads within this Larora the biggest of the area!..

each family has to pack all their belongings on to donkeys and move into the Larora for as long as it takes for the ceremony.. Every thing has to be completely in line, no short cuts.. Usually the whole thing could be done in two months… But this year it wasn’t to be!… An interesting thing happened … there was an eclipse of the moon, just when every one had settled into the Larora.. This means no ceremonies, no weddings can take place untill a full moon cycle has passed… When the moon has cleansed its self every thing can start again!! Imagine the organisation on planning grazing for all the animals, food, making sure every thing is ok at home etc etc .. Its enormous!

the Ilgwe Eldome larora.. 120 boys were cicumcised with in these walls

Before the big day the boys have to walk to a certain hill in between the Ndotos and Mt Nyiru to collect gum from the Boswellia neglecta.. Here we see the boys from Ilgwe Eldome heading north..

the boys to be circumcised from Ilgwe Eldome heading off to a hill in the north to collect ‘Naingore’

In the mean time EVERY ONE is getting married.. Beautiful weddings all over the place.. the last group of warriors are settling down..

the bridegroom, followed by his best man who chaperones the girl to the new home.. Looks after her every need, carries her across luggas with water, and gives her milk when she needs it!

back to the fires in the Ndotos.. Some better news!.. After several hundreds of hours of following the people who did it, to community meetings and talking and with very grateful thanks to KWS we were able to talk and reprimand ALL the culprits and so far so good!!! phew!.. Its a mixture between politics and grudges, and ignorance sadly.. BUT thanks to our fabulous KWS team from Ngurnit we were able to talk through the issues and bring things back to sanity!!

Here the KWS kindly came to help re the fires in the Ndotos

community meetings ..

Mean while the migration of people and their livestock continues.. This time a group heading home in the hope its going to rain soon..

more movements up and down the luggas.. this group heading east

along with the camel, and goats heading east is the mothers and children..

We did get abit of rain!.. about 10 days ago we had some very dramatic storms still towards the west , but one or two at least got as far as Ngurnit, the east side of the Ndotos.. Still praying for rain in the Kaisut, so that the Rendille peole can spend abit of time ‘at home’

Last but not least.. We have just done another eye mission.. ‘Eyes for the Elephants’, in conjunction with MEAK..

Please click below Dig’s very nice report!